Control mechanism for gas-generating apparatus.



A. W. WARNER.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GAS GENEBATlNG APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION F|LED FEB.,3 1915- 11 ml PatentedJune 25, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES A. W. WARNER.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GAS GENERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, I915. r

Patented J uno 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WWII

IIIIIIIII II PATTI onion.

An'rHUn W. WARNER, or snwronnnr, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNQR TO nrrnit-ooNLEnMANUFACTURING coMPANY, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLV NIA, A ooPtPonA'rIo OFNEW JERSEY.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GAS-GENERATING APIARATUSL inmate.

Specification of Letters Patent. Paitgntgd June 25, 11918.

Application filed February 3, 1915. Serial No. 5,866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LARTHUR W. WARNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sewickley, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inControl Mechanism for Gas-Generating Apparatus, of which the "followingis a specification.

My present invention relates to improve ments in control mechanism forgas generating apparatus, relating more particularly to means wherebythe operator of the retort-charging machine is able to control theexhauster mechanism and thereby permit a substantial balancing ofpressures at the ofi-take of the retort to be charged.

In generatingplants such as contemplated by the present invention, it isthe practice to arrange the gas retorts 1n benches, the retorts beinggenerally arrangedin vertical and horizontal alinement. In charging anddischarging the retorts it is a common practice to provide'successivecharging operations in horizontal rather than vertical rows, therebyenabling the charging machine to travel from one retort to anotherwithout shifting the positionof the charger vertically betweenchargings, excepting when the retorts of a different horizontal row areto be charged.

As is well known, the retorts are connected to a main by stand-pipeconnections, and during the discharging and'chargingoperations theretort doors are necessarily open. If the pressure in the retortsexceeds that of the atmosphere, gas will escape. If, on the other; hand,the pressure within the retort is less than that of the atmosphere,

there will be an inrush of the air into the retort (which will find itsway to the main through the standpipe connection). To equalize thesepressures it is the general practice to employ an exhauster mechanism bymeans of which the variations of pressure are controlled. p

H In the prior patent to Carpenter and Warner, No. -1,138,727, May11,1915, a

disclosure ismade of apparatus by means ofwhich -the "exhausterImechanism may be operated topro'vide substantial equilibrium betweenthe interiorv of the retorts of a "predetermined horizontal row and theatmospherehyfazary ing the pressure atwhich the system is operating,This action is ac? complished by an operator who, having before himinformation relative to the pressures of the several horizontal rows,-isable to so adjust the exhauster mechanismas to vary the exhauster actionto cause substantially equal pressure between the row of re torts andatmosphere, the arrangement be ing such as to permit him to providethisoperation at a point remote from the exhauster mechanlsm.

' While this particular arrangement provides entirely satisfactoryresults,,,I have found that, through changes and additions to theapparatus, the operation may be. SO

changed as to reduce the cost thereof, as

well as to further safeguard the charging machine operator at thetime-ofopening the retort lid. v i

For instance, the control of the above mentioned patent, is generallylocated at the end of the retort house and operated by a separateoperator, who adjusts the apparatus to the approximate pressure of therow to be charged and then, if more accurate adjustment is desired,attempts additional adjustments through the information derived from theflame when the lid is cracked. Where the stack of retorts is duties inopening the lid, is in a position to accurately note the eifect of theadjustments and isthus.ableitoprovi'de thepjrope-r adjustments. Thishasthe efl'ect :of making the control individual to each retort, as

will vbe understood from zthegfollowingz+- The machine operator bringsihisimao'hine .to' the -point Where he is in position "to open the. lidof the :retort to be charged, after which the 'lid is" cracked/ e2,(unsealedthoughxstillrloieked Itithetesul t:islla lim he is aware thatthe lid may be opened with safety, the pressures being balanced; if thecracking operation does not produce a flame, he is aware that the retortpressure is Y too low, and consequently decreases the speed of theexhauster until the flame appears .at itsproper size. He then chargesthe retort, closes the'lid and proceeds to the next retort where theoperation is repeated'." The services of the additional exhausteroperator heretofore employed can thus be, dispensed with- -To"these andother ends, the nature of which will be readily understood as theinvention is hereinafter disclosed, my invention consists in-theimprovedconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointedout in" the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar'reference characters indcate similar parts in each of the views,

F'gure 1 is a diagrammatlc view showing apportion of a stack of retortsin vertical section, an exhauster mechanism, a variable controltherefor, shown partially in section, a pressure-control mechanism, acharging machine, and connections for providing the operations of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammaticview showing a portion of a retort and standpipewith the retort lid in cracking position and also open, and the chargingmachine in position to permitthe machine operator to open the retort;and i Fig.3 is a detail view showing a face view of the retort lid.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, A designates a bench structure havingretorts a, the latter having mouth-pieces a adapted to be closed by lids04 the mouth-pieces at the front of the bench being" in communicationwith'a standfpipe- B. The stand-pipe is shown as communicating with amain 0 leading. to an exhauster D, the speed of which is regulated in asuitable manner, the drawing showing the regulating means in the formofa valve controlling member (2 adapted to be moved through the movementsof a lever d the latter, in turn, being i operated' 'by mechanismconnected to a variable ap'paratuasuch, for instance, as a' floatingbell 0. having its interior 1n open communication withthe main G. Aswill be understood;-the variations in pressure occurring in/themain Cwill affect the pressures mthe bell: and thus provide movements to theprime mover for the exhauster. This arrangement provides for a controlwhich tends to maintain the pressure of the main at an approximatelyconstant standard, based, however, on a predetermined pressure as suchstandard.

In the above mentioned Carpenter and Warner patent, provision is madefor changing this standard at will by the use of a shiftable weight, themovements of the weight being provided by a reversible motor, theoperation of the motor being controllable. This general arrangement isshown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, in which 6 represents the weightadapted to be threaded along a spindle e, the movements of the latterbeing provided by a motor 0 the operations of which are adapted to becontrolled by a reversing switch structure or other controller indicatedat 0 is preferably of the three phase type, and in Fig. 1, I have shownthe source of supply at E. The reversing switch 6 may be located at anysuitable point, and in the embodiment of the present invention is simplyan auxiliary structure. This auxiliary structure is located ata suitablepoint remote from the exhauster mechanism, as for instance, in theretort house or in the oflice of the superintendent of the plant,suitable gages, etc., being generally provided in order that the desiredpressure readings, etc., may be had at a point where the exhaustermechanism may be readily manipulated to meet the various conditions ofoperation. It will be readily understood that by the use of thereversing switch, the direction of the rotation of the motor a can bevaried as desired.

F designates a charging machine adapted to travel to and fro in front ofthe retorts on track f, suitable travel mechanism being provided for thepurpose, which mechanism may be of the type shown in the patent toCarpenter and Hibbard, No. 1,14c4c,165, June 22, 1915, the particulartravel mechanism employed being immaterial so far as the presentinvention is concerned.

The charging machine is shown as provided with a platform f mounte tomove vertically by means of threaded rods f adapted tobe operated in asuitable manner as'by the hoist mechanism shown in the said Carpenterand Hibbard patent. Neither of these operating means is shown. Nor isthe mechanism for operating the charger, indi cated at G, disclosed inthe present application, since it forms no particular part of thepresent invention. The travel, hoist and charger operations are referredto simply as illustrating the manner in which the present inventionoperates when applied to a charging machine in general use.

As shown by Figs. 1 and 2, the operating platform extends to a pointadjacent to the The motor front of the retorts thereby enabling themachine operator to manipulate the retort lids. Since the platform isadjustable vertically, it will be seen that such adjustment will placethe'operator at a properpoint relative to the retort to be charged, itbeing understood that the machine has traveled to the proper positionlengthwise of the stack, and ,theplatform moved to the particularelevation desired.

H design ates a SllltflblQCOlltI'OlllD device which may be in. the formof a reversing switch, or a push button arrangement, as desired, bothforms being well known in the art. This control mechanism is located onthe platform f at a point readilyaccessible to the operator-when inproximity to the re tort lids. This control mechanism is adapted to beoperatively connected totwoof the three "leads running to the inotorjjthese two leads providing for reversal. of the motor, the third leadrunning direct to the motor, Since "the motorc? isflocatedataj fixedpoint, while the machine isadapted to travel, I preferably providetheconnections between thecontrollerand the motorby the use of trolleys,indicated at h, the drawing showing four of these trolleys toprovide thecomplete circuit between the supply, con troller, and motor. 1 As shownin Fig. 1, the twocontrols indicated at H and at 6 respectively, areshown as connectedup in parallel in the motor circuit. ()bviously, thecontrol 0 may beomit ted without affecting the operation from thecharging machine. i

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown more par. ticularly a detail structure ofa retort mouth-piece a having a lateral a which leads to the stand pipe,this providing the path for the gas from the retort a to the stand-pipeB; I havealso shown the lid a as provided with lockingmeans, indicatedat J, and having a handle j, 'a locking bar j, and a latch. 7' Theparticular arrangement ofthe locking means is immaterial, the form shownbeing that disclosed in the patent to Henry A. Carpenter, No. 1,149,026,August 3, 1915, the structurebeing so arranged as to permit cracking ofthe lid, the latter being shown in thisposition in full lines in Fig. 2.Thisposition'ofthe lid is obtained by moving the handle j with .its camin a manner to release the tight fit of the lid with respect to themouth piece.

In Fig. 2 Ihave shown the platform in approximateposition for ope-rationwith respectto theretort show-ninsection, the charging machinehavingbeen moved to this positien, andit is assumed that the-"0 craterhasthrow-n the lever or handle and thi'is released the lid to" an extentsufiicient to ermit communicatio between the at ino'sphere and the mouthiece. when the operator has placed the ii in this position,

'be-enarged;

he applies a. torch to the space between the lidand the mouth piece forthe purpose of igniting. any gas whiclrr may be escaping through thisspace.

Since the gas, during the carbonization period in the retort, flows fromthe retort throughthe jmouth piece a and lateral intothe stand pipe 13,it will be understood that if the eiihauster niechanisrn is providinga'vacuumfactioii insufficient to produce an equilibrium between theatmosphere and the pressure in theretort whenthis cracking operatic-iitakes place, the excess pres sure within the retort will cause the gasto escape throughthe space between the mouth piece and thelidf andprovide a material flame at the r ent the retort and if the lid wereopened at'this' time, the excess pressure would cause the flameto beforced out into the face'of the operator. When this eiicessive flameappearspit indicates to the operator anexcessive pressure, and hethereupon operates his controller insuch manner as to increase the speedof the eXha-uster prime mover, this action being continued untilthe-flame has reached the proper point, a standardin this respect beinga small flame withinthe' space between the lid and mouth piece andslightly exposed at the edge of the 'lid. When, this point is reached,the lid maybe safely opened, since pressure within the ,ret ortfissubstantially in equilibrium with the atmosphere. Should no flamefappearwhen the torch is applied, theoperator knows that the. pressure withinthe retort is less than that of the atmosphereby reason of the exhausterproviding a too great vacuuin action for the particulari retort;consequently, the operator will then manipulate'fthecontroller insuchmanner as to decrease the vacuum action, this result being obtained byshifting theweight e in the direction'to decrease the speed of operationof the exhausts-r, thereby building up the pressure within the retortuntil it is in substantial equilibrium with that of the atmosphere, thisfact being indicated by a flame appearing at the crack. Bymanipulating". the controller, this flame can be brought to the propercondition after which theil etort lid is opened, and the chargingoperation takes place, the machine being moved to place the charger inalinement with the retort after such opening of the lid. After I thecharge hasv been placed in position, and the'charger returned,theinaehineie again moved to position where the operator is able'to closethe lid, after which themach-ine -is traveled to the next retort to Theimproved arrangement places the observer (the operator) in closeproximity to the 'retort 'wh i ch. is are be opened, and there reached.As a result, the operator is able to provide this equilibri un withrapidity and exactness, and it is possible to operate the gas generatingapparatus without reference to any valve structure for controllintheport leading to the stand pipe from t e lateral,

" mosphere into the stand pipe through the open mouth piece. Since onlyone, retort is being charged at a time, the slight variations inpressures provided by this regulation ofthe exhauster mechanism to suitthe needsof an individual retort does not materially affect theoperations of the remainingretorts. Y

During the retortcharging 'periods, the adjustments necessary toeither'increase or decrease the pull ofthe exhauster are made by thecharging machine operator through themedium of controller and hence onlyone operator is required, and that single operator is right at theretort being operated upon and, hence in the best possible position toadjust the exhauster to that retort. there, as heretofore, theadjustment is made from a centralstation, an additional operator isrequired who is stationed at such distance from theireto rts thataccurate adjustment-for each retort' is rendered impossible. This isparticularly true 'where the stack is long and many ofthe' retorts areat a considerable elevation from the operating floor. In addition toaccurately controlling the operation and thereby preventing the-escapeof gas or the admission ofair, a further and very important result ofthe invention is the safety of the charging machine operator who mustmanipulate the retort doors, particularlythose at considerable elevationwhich cannot be reached from the floor. With no .exhauster controllingmeans at hand, vhe would. be'unable to check a strong outward flame sothat his position in front of such a retort would be extremelyhazardous. By means of the present invention the conditions individualto each retort may be met, whereby the operation isrendered uniform forall the retorts and the safety of the operator is assured. g v t If bothof the controllers H and c are employed, a primary or general adjustment.may be had by means of 6 and the variations individual toeach retortefiected by controller H. Or the entire control may be accomplished bythe'latter if it is desiredto eliminate controller e WhatI claim is:-;

I 1.3Ingas generating apparatus, the combination of fairetort-and aretort lid, an as hausterfor the retort, a regulator for varying theaction of the exhauster, and regulator controlling means having positionadjacent to the retort lid, whereby the lid and the controller may bemanipulated by a single operator.

. 2. In gas generating apparatus, the combination of a retort and aretort lid, an exhauster for the retort, a regulator for varying theaction of the exhauster, a retort charging machine provided with anoperators station from which the retort lid is accessible, and acontroller for the exhauster regulator, said controller located on thecharging machine and accessible from the operators station.

3. In gas generating apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofretortsand retort lids, an exhauster common to the retorts, a' regulator forvarying the action of the exhauster, a charging machine adapted to bemoved to position for cooperating with any retort, the machine having anoperators station movable therewith and from which the lid of the retortto be charged is accessible, and a controller for the exhauster reguanoperators station movable therewith and from which the lid of the retortto be operated upon is accessible, an exhauster common to the severalretorts, a regulator for varying the action of the exhauster, and acontroller for the regulator mounted on said movable mechanism andaccessible from said operators station.

5. In gas generating apparatus, the combination of a retort and a lidtherefor, an exhauster for the retort, two interchangeably operatingcontrollers for the exhausterone located at a distance from the retortand the other closely adjacent to the retort, whereby by means of thelast mentioned controller a single operator may without changing hisposition manipulate the lid and adjust the exhauster.

6. In gas. generating apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofretorts and retort lids, exhauster mechanism common to the retorts, atraveling charging machine adapted to bepositioned for cooperating withhauster--ene having non-traveling position emma and the other located onthe charging machine and accessible from the operators station.

7. In gas generating apparatus, the cornbination with a retort, and aretort charging machine, of means operative from the machine formanipulating the retort pressure to place it in substantial equilibriumWith the atmosphere.

8. In gas generating apparatus, the-com bination of a retort heatingstructure, retorts located in said structure and spaced aparthorizontally and vertically and accessible from the exterior of thefurnace structure, a retort charging machine adjustable bothhorizontally and vertically relatively to said structure for serving theseveral retorts, an exhauster common to the several retorts, and meanslocated on the charging machine and movable horizontally and Verticallytherewith for controlling the operation of the exhauster.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

' ARTHUR W. WARNER.

Witnesses:

ADA M. STEELE, M. J. STEELE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of JPatents, Washinon, D. 0."

